It's the batteries, stupid – but this is still pretty cool: a new record for solar cell efficiency, at 44.7% This is a specialized cell, designed for use in a system that concentrates sunlight with lenses or mirrors. The record-setting measurement was made at a concentration of 297 suns.
But until we have a reliable, cost-effective way to store power for nights and cloudy days, photovoltaic systems are going to be relegated to marginal uses. Several of my neighbors have gone off-grid with photovoltaic systems, but their experiences are uniformly bad: very high costs and disappointingly low reliability, both primarily functions of their battery systems...
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